Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

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Figure 1. Jan van Scoref, Baptism of Christ, ca. 1527-1530. Photograph by M. Faries (after

Dingjan), courtesy of Frans Hafsmuseum, Haarlem.

provided critical comparative evidence (4). The results help to define the art

historical attributions and suggest some changes to Harrison's chronology.

This material not only brought greater clarity regarding the typical painting

procedures used in Scorel's shop, but also signaled the steps Heemskerck took

in his evolution away from Scorel's shop.

During the Haarlem years, Scorel standardized his painting technique in re­

sponse to the needs of an active workshop (5). The most overt clue to the

standardization is revealed in the layout of underdrawings from this period.

The Baptism if Christ in the Frans Halsmuseum, Haarlem, must have been

one of the most prestigious commissions the artist received 1527-1 530 (Fig.

1). The layout of this painting is fu lly worked out, from the assured contours

and loosely marked shaded zones in the figures of the main scene to the light

and dark bands in the landscape and other background detail. Areas where a

known motif was to be placed were no longer just left as a blank space in

the underdrawing, but marked with indicative shapes referring to the motif.

The underdrawing was laid out as a more recognizable and emphatic guide.

The Baptism was also painted fo llowing what had evolved into Scorel's usual

practice. This practice comprised the fo llowing: (a) an application of lead

white as a continuous intermediate layer between the ground and paint, (b)

an underdrawing in black chalk on this layer, and (c) a preference fo r certain

paint-layer structures and color combinations. A white intermediate layer cer­

tainly occurs in artistic groups other than that of Scorel's workshop. It has

been fo und in some early German panels, and sporadically in the Hans Mem­

ling and Gerard David groups, fo r instance. Scorel, however, could not have

learned the use of such a layer from his master in Amsterdam. It begins to

show up in some of Scorel's early works produced during his journey to Italy,

but only appears consistently after his return north. It was the three-fold

fu nction of this layer that was peculiar to the efficacy of Scorel's painting

technique: it isolated the ground, added to the painting's luminosity, and pro­

vided "tooth" fo r the underdrawing, a fu nction almost unique to the Scorel

group (6). In many infrared documents, the underdrawing can be seen to skip

or crumble on top of this ridged surface. One cross section from Baptism

shows this typical paint layer structure: a first layer consisting of lead white

at a maximum thickness of 12 fL, a second layer composed of clumps of black

Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice